Letters
by JoJoHeart
Summary: A girl with no memory, a Keyblade apprentice, and a bubbly Mage. An old enemy has made himself known, and he won't stop until everything is submerged in darkness.
1. Letters

I feel...so strange. Am I...floating? Where am I?

Huh?

What's that sound?

_The girl's eyes slowly opened, to reveal that a sea of crystal water stretched out before her, all the way to the horizon. Squinching her toes, she found herself barefoot, in a white and blue sundress. _

_**I walk out atop the warm sand, towards the seashore.**_

_Someone was calling her. She turned to her left, meeting the indigo eyes of a boy with rusty red hair. Next to him was a girl almost his height, with blonde pigtails and shining emerald eyes. _

_**Where sad news doesn't reach me.**_

_She waved at her, while the boy smiled warmly, and held out his hand. The girl by the shore smiled, and went to go to him, but stopped. Someone else was calling her._

_**Even without you here, the sun rises.**_

_She turned to her right, and saw another boy, about the same height as the first, with black hair covering his eyes. He smiled equally as warmly, but the girl could tell this smile was different. Next to him, a smaller girl with long black hair frowned. _

_**It is the beginning of one new day.**_

_The girl by the shore felt cold just looking at them. However, she wasn't given time to decide. She hadn't noticed, but as a shadow fell across her, a tidal wave did as well._

_**As for the amida-kuji line I choose today**_

_She tried to cover her face, to protect herself, but was tumbled down into the water. She swirled for a moment, before opening her eyes, sundress floating around her. The pairs were gone, and she could see light coming from above. She swam for it, breaking the surface._

_**I don't know where it leads.**_

_She turned around in the water, and, seeing shore, she swam towards it, eager to get out of the ocean. It had suddenly become night, the light she had seen having been the moon._

_**It is why**_

_The girl looked up from the shore, to where a grassy hill lay. A man and woman stood there, only their sillouhettes visible._

_**despite being lazy**_

_She called out to them, but they only turned and dissapeared over the top. The girl followed them, running desperately._

_**I would work hard every day.**_

_She emerged at the top, and walked forwards, looking around. They were gone, but she found herself in the middle of a crossroads._

_Someone called her name._

_**Ah, on the sky in two hands**_

_She looked forwards, and saw that, at the end of the pathway was a large cliff. Standing on the path was a man with blonde, spiky hair, and a tall girl with blue hair. Theye walked away. She followed, running._

_**To the storm in the heart**_

_As she ran, the grass next to the path gave way to sand, which were littered with strange, large key like weapons. Standing before the cliff, the girl stopped, and looked around. _

_**Ah, farewell to you, on this seashore a letter is always left.**_

_Her dress had been replaced by more practical clothes. A wind whipped around her, the keys flying up by themselves, creating a great storm._

_**Ah, even in dreams**_

_The girl covered her head, kneeling in the sand until it subsided. An armor-clad foot stepped in front of her, and she looked up, surprised._

_**Ah, even over the phone**_

_A knight stood their, cape billowing out behind her. Slowly, the girl stood. Something was not quite right about this tall stranger._

_**Ah, I want to hear your voice**_

_He pointed one of the keys at her, challenging her. The girl was taken aback._

_She stepped back..._

_**Ah, what I remember of that last time was...**_

_...and fell. Through the sand, through the earth, into the darkness. She could see him leering over her, as he began to remove his helmet, but the darkness swallowed him up._

_The girl fell, relaxing, almost feeling safe. Slowly, her body drifted right way up, her feet landing lightly on something. She took a step forward, blind in the darkness. Light rippled from under her foot._

_**..."I'll definetly return!"**_

_She stood on a stained glass platform. _


	2. Beginning is the End is the Beginning

_"Relive the pictures that have come to past_

_For now we stand alone, the world is lost and blown_

_And we are flesh and blood disentigrate..."_

She awoke with a jolt, sitting bolt upright from where she'd been laying in the alley way. Looking around, the girl realized she was alone, wearing only a simple pair of jeans, sneakers, and a t shirt. Her head hurt badly, like she'd been hit by a baseball bat.

_Maybe I was..._She thought, as she could not recall anything.

A shadow fell over her.

The girl looked up with a gasp. Standing there in the fading sun was the sillouhete of a boy. He was wearing black jeans with crossing red belts, a black open vest, black sneakers, and a red shirt. His eyes were hidden by red spikes of hair. He held out his hand to her.

The girl froze. Who was this person? Should she go with him? What if he had done this to her? Where would he take her?

_Who was she?_

"...Come with me." He said, quietly. The girl, deciding that he seemed to have at least an idea of who she was better than she did, and that, if he wanted to hurt her he would have when she was unconcious, made a choice. She took his hand, and allowed him to pull her to her feet. "This way." He said, and walked out of the alley, into the fading sun.

She followed, albeit cautiously, behind him. They were in a square of some sort, with several shops. People were walking about, happily chatting to each other. They her no mind as she trailed several feet behind the boy. However, a few groups did flash quick glances at him, the girl noticed as she looked around. They moved up a slope, and ended up a the top of a plaza, where a single building stood. The boy walked straight in, but she stopped to read the words on the sign above the door.

_Twilight Station._

Above the station, she noticed that there was a high clock tower. She stared up at it, transfixed.

"Hey, hurry up!" Snapping her head back down, the girl saw that the boy was waiting for her, glaring at her with indigo eyes. She blushed, embarassed at being caught, and jogged to catch up with him. He held open the door for her, and then led her to a purple train, decorated with golden stars. The girl noticed how it seemed out of place from the red hues that she'd seen so far.

She followed the boy on, and the door closed behind her. He sat on one side, she on the other. They were the only two on the train, and to distract herself from the sudden awkward feeling, she stared out the window. Suddenly tired, she yawned a little, and settled down into her seat. The girl never saw the bright flash of light that changed the scenery from twilight, to a dark sky, lit only by the glow of the tracks from below and the aurora of lights from above.

/-/-/-/

It was the hiss of the door opening that awoke her. She sat up, looking sleepily around, before remember her silent companion. He was nowhere to be seen, unless...

_He left me here? _She thought, suddenly annoyed. The girl stood and walked out the door. She looked around, silently awed and afraid at the same time. _Maybe I should get back on the train..._

Just as she thought this, however, the door hissed shut behind her, and the train returned down the tracks from which they had come. She laughed nervously, and then took a deep breath, turning to better observe the island in space.

It was green with several trimmed hedges and trees, with a curving path ahead of her, leaing to an oak door. The oak door was attached to a tall tower, that leaned one way and then another. It had several smaller tourretes sticking awkwardly out from the sides, and odd, triangle shaped windows.

The door creaked open, slowly, beckoning her to enter. Seeing as it was, at the moment, her only option, she steeled her nerves, and entered the tower before she could change her mind.

Inside, she found herself at the bottom of a winding staircase. Everything seemed to be lit from within, as she could see no other light sources. Slowly, the girl took her time climbing the stairs, still nervous about where she was, and where her mysterious 'friend' had gone to. Soon enough, she reached a door. The girl hesitated.

_Should I go in? So far, nothing's tried to hurt me, but..._

"Enter, child." A loud voice said. The girl jumped back, nearly tumbling down the stairs in shock.

"Who...who's there?" There was silence for a moment, her voice seemed small compared to the one who had spoken.

"Enter, and you shall discover." Taking a deep breath, the girl placed her hand on the door knob, and turned. There was a great flash of light as she stepped into the room.

"I have been waiting for you."

_"The last of a line of lasts_

_The pale Princess of a palace cracked_

_And now the Kingom comes, crashing down undone..."_


	3. Decode

_"How can I decide what's right_

_When you're clouding up my mind_

_I can't win this loosing fight_

_all the time..."_

When the light faded, the girl found herself on a platform with golden emblems on it. Across from her stood the boy who had brought her here. He stared at her, and their eyes connected. _Why do I feel like I know him from somewhere?_

"**Welcome, Kirameki.**" She jumped again, and broke eye contact to look around for the source of the voice. "**Do not bother, I am not there. Welcome to my tower.**"

"Y-You're tower?" She almost whispered. Kira looked over her shoulder, but found the door had dissapeared. She shook her head, so confused. "Who are you?" There was a chuckle from the disembodied voice, and Kira found herself becoming quickly annoyed with it. "Cut it out! Where am I? Who is," she pointed at the boy, "that? Why did the door dissapear, and why did you call me--"

"**--'Kirameki'? Because it is your name, child. Of course you were also called 'Kira'. Would you prefer that?**" She was at a loss. This...voice, knew who she was.

"...Sure." Kira said, uncertainly. "What else do you know about me?" The voice laughed again.

"**A great deal more than you do. But that must wait for another time. Now,**" The voice suddenly took on a serious tone, and Kira could almost feel the power behind it, "**let us get down to buisiness, shall we? Diez.**" The boy's posture straightened slightly. "**Demonstrate to Kira how to summon a Keyblade.**" Diez nodded, and reached his hand out in front of him.

"Keyblade?" Kira asked. "What's a--" But she swallowed her words, as something began to materialize in Diez's outstretched hand. In retrospect, Kira really shouldn't have been surprised. Her mouth dropped open, however, at the shining weapon now held in his hand.

The Keyblade's Handle gaurd was a circle, with roman numerals on it, the twelve of which was level with the blade. That part looked like a giant black clock hand, with half a sun and extremely sharp looking rays coming off the end. On the end was a keychain of a sun. Diez brought it up, and then whipped it through the air.

"It's called HighNoon." He said, not breaking eye contact with Kira. She could only stare, transfixed. There was silence for a moment, and then the voice returned.

"**Your turn, Kira. Summon your Keyblade.**" Kira blilnked.

"Uh....sure..." She said, and, timidly, held her hand out in front of her, mimickign what Diez had done moments before. She felt extremely selfconcious, (as Diez was _still_ glaring at her, jerk), but closed her eyes and tried to focus.

_Keyblade...Keyblade...Keyblade..._She chanted in her head. Inside her, she felt like something was awakening, bubbling up from the pit of her stomach. It traveled suddenly up, through her heart and out her fingertips. She grasped the handle as it materialized.

Kira opened an eye, and then gasped, eyes wide open in surprise. Kira's Keyblade began as black at the base of the gaurd, and as it reached the end, became a light blue. The points were of a golden star, shining mightily. The gaurd was in a pointed star shape as well, also golden. Her keychain was a blue and gold star. Kira brought her own weapon up, and down again, just as Diez had.

"**Excellent.**" The voice congratulated her. "**Can you tell me it's name, now?**" Kira stared at it for a moment, before smiling.

"It's called...StarLight." She looked up at Diez, thinking his face would be in as much awe as her's was when he'd summoned HighNoon. Her smile fell. He hadn't even moved.

"**Good, good. Now, why not a little test run?**" Kira looked up, confused. _Test run? What does he mean--_Her eyes went wide as it dawned on her.

"Oh no. I'm not fighting him!" She practically screeched, gesturing towards Diez. "I've only just summoned this thing," she flailed the Keyblade about, going in a circle, "and now I have to actually use it?! You haven't even ansered any of my questions yet!" The voice chuckled.

"**All in good time, child. Now, are we ready?**" Across from her, Diez straightened.

"**Three...**"

Kira sighed, resigning herself. _At least I may be able to block some of his attacks..._

"**Two...**"

She braced herself, seeing Diez preparing to run towards her.

"**One...**"

_Here we go._

"**Go!**"

Diez sprang towards her, bringing his Keyblade back to strike at her. Kira ran forward as well. They met in the middle, and she brought StarLight up to block him. Diez seemed surprise, indigo eyes widening, but it quickly passed as he pushed her back.

Kira fell with a gasp, not fully recovered when Diez came running at her again. She blocked him, and kicked up with her legs, throwing him off balance over her head. Kira sprang up and turned, running at him with all her might. If he wanted a fight, he was getting a fight.

Diez whirled around, and blocked her attack, throwing her back again. Kira was ready, this time, and didn't fall flat on her butt. She ran back at him, swinging StarLight back. Diez, however, jumped up and over her, causing Kira to loose her balance and fall forward. She dropped her Keyblade in the process, and before she could scramble to retrieve it, Diez had a foot on her back. She could feel HighNoon against her neck.

"**...Good, very impressive.**" The voice said. Diez moved away, letting her up. Kira sat up, and the moment her hand reached out, StarLight appeared in a swirl of light. She frowned. _That would have been nice to know a few minutes ago..._

"**Diez, please escort Kira to my study. We have a lot to talk about.**" Diez nodded, and dropped his hand. HighNoon dissapeared with it. He held out his empty hand for her. Kira stared at it, and took the offered hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet as he had in the alleyway.

With a nod, Diez led the way to where a portal had appeared. Behind him, Kira dispelled her Keyblade with a flick of her hand. She turned her hand over, staring at it in wonderment. Ahead of her, Diez turned back.

"We can't keep Master Yen Sid waiting." He said. Kira looked up and nodded, following him into the portal.

/-/-/-/-/

The pair entered a small, circular study. There were several book cases, all filled with books, and a second door to the right of the desk. Behind the desk sat an aging Wizard, with a long gray beard. He wore blue robes and pointed wizard's hat with stars on it. Diez bowed respectfully to him.

"Master Yen Sid." The faint glimmer of a smile passed his lips, and then his eyes turned to Kira. The girl went ramrod straight, feeling the intensity of his gaze. This man was obviously powerful.

"...Kirameki. It is very nice to finally meet you in person." Kira raised an eyebrow. Yen Sid chuckled lowly. "I understand that you have many questions, though, and I have many answers, so please, ask away." Kira nodded, and gulped a little. Her mind seemed to have suddenly gone blank.

"Er, uhm, well...Where am I?" She stuttered out the first thing she could think of. Yen Sid nodded.

"A reasonable question. You are in my tower." _Oh, duh._ Diez rolled his eyes. Kira shot him a dirty look.

"Okay, uhm...why am I here?" Yen Sid nodded.

"You are here because the worlds need you." Kira's eyes went wide.

"The...worlds?"

"Yes, Kira. Their are many worlds outside of this one, small one." He turned to the window as Kira opened her mouth to ask the next question. "Why, you ask?" She nodded. "Have you noticed that, lately, the stars are going out? Observe." Kira turned towards the window, as did Diez, and watched as a star, no bigger or smaller than the others, slowly flickered, and then--

...gone. Where a star should have been, there was nothing but darkness. Kira gasped.

"What....What happened to it?" She asked, very quietly. Yen Sid answered just as quietly.

"Its heart was found. Swallowed, by the Heartless." Kira turned towards him.

"Heart...less?" Yen Sid nodded, raising his hand diagonally away from himself. Kira followed where he was motioning to, and saw a black mass of creature form, with yellow glowing eyes. She shivered as it stared at her.

"Yes. Heartless. They are made of hearts corrupted by darkness." Kira nodded, understanding what he was saying, but more wanting the creature to stop staring at her. She moved slightly to the left, and it followed her. Yen Sid waved his hand, and the Heartless dissapeared. Kira breathed a sigh of relief.

"But," she began, turning back to Yen Sid. He had swiveled his chair back to look at her squarely. "What can I do?" Yen Sid nodded.

"Your Keyblade. It can allow you to seal the worlds from being devoured by Heartless. We already have a team working on this, however--"

"Wait wait wait." Kira interupted. Yen Sid raised his eyebrows. "'Team'? You already have a team? Why not use them?" The old wizard sighed.

"Because, we have a new enemy on the rise." Kira blinked. "His name is Terra, a once apprentice of Master Eraqus. Terra fell into darkness, allowing it to consume him many years ago. We had thought he was banished in a seperate world, but his darkness grew, and he broke free years ago. We've been fighting him ever since." There was a silence as he allowed this all to sink in. Kira felt she'd heard the name Terra somewhere before, but could not place it.

_"Leaver her alone, Terra!" _Kira turned, hearing the voice behind her. She saw no one there, and became puzzled. _What was that? _She turned as Yen Sid began to speak again.

"Terra controls much more powerful Heartless, more powerful than anyone has ever seen." Kira nodded. "We've only managed to save a small portion of the worlds he's attacked. The rest, including the world from whence you came..." He trailed off, letting Kira finish the sentence for herself.

_...have fallen into darkness._

_"The truth is hiding in your eyes_

_and it's hanging on your tongue_

_just boiling in my blood."_


	4. Skyway Avenue

_"Where are your guts to fly?_

_Soaring through, through the night_

_And if you take that last step..."_

"My...my world is...?" Kira stuttered, shocked at the revelataion. Yen Sid nodded, solemn.

"I'm afraid so, Kira." Kira looked down. "...Can you, remember anything?" Kira looked up at him, and then out the window, up at the stars. They twinkled brightly down at her. She wondered which dark space had once been her home. A tear trickled down her face, and she closed her eyes, trying to summon up the memories. A silence decended in the room.

"I...can't." She whsipered. Yen Sid sighed.

"Well, I suppose that is to be expected, considering what you have been through." He allowed her a moment more to collect herself, and then spoke again. "There is a way, however, to return your memories." Kira looked up, amazement written all over her face. She stared straight at the Master Wizard, and smiled, hopeful.

"You--you can return my memories? With magic?" Yen Sid placed his hands on his desk. A look passed through his eyes. It was sad amusement.

"I apologize, Kira, but it will take more than my magic to retrieve your memories." Kira's face fell. She felt foolish, and tried to make herself seem as small as possible. "However," Her head rose slightly, eyes connecting with Yen Sid's, "should you choose to travel the worlds, I can guarantee that you will reclaim your memories." Kira merely stared at him.

Travel the worlds? Mere hours ago, she had awoken in an alleyway with just the clothes on her back, brought here by a boy that she'd only just learned the name of, and now she was being told by an old, (possibly senile Wizard), that the only way for her to remember would be to travel the worlds, slaying Heartless with a Key-shaped weapon that she called 'StarLight'.

And if she did decide to travel, would she be alone? Kira didn't really like the thought of taking on such a monumental task by herself.

"Do not fear, Kira." Yen Sid said. He motioned towards Diez. "Diez shall be travelling with you. He can also seal worlds." Kira looked to Diez. He didn't even acknowledge her. Kira frowned.

_Jerk._

Diez's eyes shot towards her.

"I don't have to go." Immediatly, Kira tried to appear as innocent as possible. She looked off out the window again, hands behind her back. _Well, I guess he's better than nothing._

"You shall also have a third companion, though she appears to be a tad late." Kira's face brightened. A corner of Yen Sid's mouth lifted slightly at her reaction, but he said nothing. "Now, Kira, I believe that you require some more practical clothes, yes?" Kira blushed. She'd forgotten she was still wearing her ripped pair of jeans, shirt, and sneakers. Yen Sid motioned towards a door to his left. "In there you shall find three Good Fairies who will assist you." Kira mumbled a thank you and quickly scooted out of the room.

Diez stared at the door as it closed. A muffled argument soon arose, but the two males paid no attention to it.

"Can she handle this, Master?" Yen Sid sighed, and turned to look out the window. Another star went out.

Suddenly, the spot where Kira had stood began filling with pink smoke and sparkles. Diez's eyes went wide, and he could only stare as a girl, nearly his height, emerged. She was blonde, with long pigtails that curled at the ends and a pink headband. The girl wore a pink skirt with a matching open vest and netted, fingerless gloves. Her shirt was a pale yellow, as well as her tights. A pair of short, pink, slightly heeled boots covered her feet, and two black belts crossed her waist.

"Oopsie. Guess I overshot myself a little." She laughed. "But, that's what I get for running late!" She looked around, suddenly noticing the two others. Her emerald eyes traveled from Diez, to Yen Sid, and she squealed. "Ohmigod! Ohmigod! It's really you." She bounced over to stand infront of his desk, and bowed. "Master Yen Sid, it is an honor to meet you! I'm--"

"Abigail Westing. Served apprenticeship under Wizard Merlin for eight years, newly appointed Mage." She stared at him, amazed. Then, suddenly, another squeal. Diez flinched, and covered his ears. Abigail grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him close.

"Did you hear that?! Master Yen Sid knows my name!" She practically screeched. Diez pulled himself away from her, scrambling to stand just outside of the fairies' room. Abigail hardly noticed, still mumbling about how honored she was and staring into space.

The doors flew open, hitting Diez. He fell to the floor with a yelp as Kira backed quickly out of the room. Angry shouts were now clearly heard from within, mixed with Kira trying to politely quell the fighting. Unable to agree on a color scheme for Kira's clothes, the three fairies had basically had a rainbow fight, using Kira as the battlefield.

She tripped over Diez, just as a flash of green sparks rocketed out of the room. Yen Sid held up his hand, and the sparks ricocheted off an invisible barrier, and straight towards Abigail. They hit her dead on, turning her clothes several shades of green. Abigail, sensing something amiss with her clothes, snapped out of her daze, and looked down.

"Oh, no no no no no!" She said. With a wave of his hands, Yen Sid closed the doors before any more runaway sparks could emerge. Abigail summoned, from thin air, a golden staff with pink swirls and an emerald orb at the top. She tapped it on her clothes, and they returned to her normal color. "There, that's much better."

Diez, finally realizing who had landed on him, quickly rose, causing Kira to yelp and fall to the floor again. She glared at him, and was about to say something not particularly nice, when a squeal to her left cut her off. Kira turned her head in time to see Abigail bound over to her. The blonde hoisted her to her feet.

"Oh, that outfit is absolutely adorable on you! Those fairies sure know how to dress a girl." Kira merely stared at her. Abigail blinked. "Did you not get to see it?" She shook her head. Abigail smiled. "Well here! Take a look!" Out of thin air, a mirror materialized in front of Kira.

At first, Kira could only stare at herself. It was the first time she'd actually gotten a chance to see what she looked like.

She wasn't very tall, with shoulder-length brown hair. Her new clothes consisted of a black, short vest with a hood, zipped up, and a matching pair of black shorts. She had on a blue shirt, (the same color as her eyes), and black fingerless gloves. Around her neck was a star pendant, and she wore a silver belt with star charms. A pair of black, high tops adorned her feet.

Kira reached out a hand to brush her fingertips across the mirror, as Abigail looked around it at her.

"Pretty sweet, huh?" She said. Kira nodded. The mirror vanished, and Abigail held out her hand. "Hi there! I'm Abigail Westing, Mage!" Kira took it.

"Uh, hi. I'm Kirameki." She thought for a moment. "Or, I guess you could call me Kira." Abigail smiled brightly, and then turned towards Diez.

"And what about you, Mr. Talkative?" Diez huffed. He still wasn't fully recovered from being pushed to the ground and fallen on top of.

"Diez." Abigail huffed, hands on her hips. Kira looked between the two, wondering which would be the first to snap. Diez was. He glared straight at Abigail.

"What?"

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to shake my hand?" Abigail said, impatiently tapping her foot and extending her hand towards him. Diez stared at her, and then slowly reached out to shake her hand. Abigail beamed at him. "Was that so hard, Mr. Sunshine?"

"My name is Diez." He said, pulling his hand away from her.

"Kira, Diez, Abigail." Yen Sid said, capturing their attention. They all turned towards him, and he motioned towards the front of his desk. "Please, stand before me." Abigail skipped over, pulling Kira with her. Diez followed a tad more slowly. For a moment, Yen Sid merely stared at them, before looking at Diez.

"Diez. I have trained you on how to use your Keyblade properly. Please, pass on this knowledge to Kira." Diez frowned slightly. "Teach her what I have you." Sensing the end of his words, Diez bowed slightly. Yen Sid turned to Abigail.

"Abigail Westing, I asked Merlin for you to accompany these two. He is an old friend of mine, and I trust that he has taught you well. Guide them." Abigail nodded, proudly smiling. Finally, he turned to Kira.

"Kira. I understand how sudden this all is for you. I know you have your doubts, but remember this: do not ever, loose sight of the light. Do you understand that?" Kira stared blankly at him.

_"Child, you shall go far. Just remember one thing: Don't ever loose sight of the light, alright?"_

"Kira?" She blinked, meeting Yen Sid's gaze. A flicker of a smile passed his lips. "Do you understand?" Kira nodded, smiling slightly. Yen Sid nodded back. "Well, then. Allow me to show you to the first Corridor of Light." He raised his hand, and the book case behind them vanished. Behind it was a door. All three turned and stared.

"This here is the first of many Corridors of Light that you shall encounter. They connect the worlds to each other, and come in may different forms. You need some sort of key to open them." Kira looked at him over her shoulder.

"Like the Keyblade?" Yen Sid shook his head.

"No. This key is different. You will know it when you come across it." Yen Sid looked at Diez. "Diez already has the key for this door, do you not?" Diez turned and stared at Yen Sid, before realization seemed to dawn on his face. Kira and Abigail watched as he pulled out a small blue orb from his pocket. He held it infront of the door, and it glowed, before becoming pure light, and racing towards the door. Their was the sound of something unlocking, and then:

The door opened.

A sudden whirlwind filled the room. It pulled all three travelers into the doorway, where they were surrounded by swirling lights. Yen Sid waved from his desk.

"Good luck!"

_"I'll follow you_

_Leave the edge and fly_

_We're finally alive..."_


	5. Every Moment

_"Midnight melted to morning_

_A moment faded to memory_

_All these days, just slip away _

_Through our fingers_

_So..."_

"Oof!"

Diez landed on his back on the checkered tile floor. He turned over, so that everything was right side up. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to gain his barings as he was busy breaking Abigail and Kira's fall. He groaned. This seemed to be happening a little to often, lately.

Abigail stared at the room upside down. She frowned in disaproval.

"What's up with this room? Those pictures are not straight at all! And you're not supposed to mix those colors! How ghastly!" Above her, Kira also looked around, examining the room they hand landed in. It was a strange color of red mixed with an equally strange color of yellow. Several tilted pictures hung on the wall, and she could see a hallway curving off. That's when Kira realized something.

"Hey, where's Diez?" Abigail, who had continued to complain about the room, suddenly fell quiet, realizing this for the first time as well.

"_I'mdwnhr!" _Came the muffle cry under them. Quickly, Kira and Abigail scrambled off of him, allowing their friend to sit up. Kira scratched the back of her neck, as Abigail stood up and dusted off her skirt.

"Sorry, Diez." Kira said, smiling slightly. She might as well attempt to make friends with him, if they were going to be stuck on this journey together. Diez shot a glare at her, and stood. Kira resisted the urge to smack him.

"Oh dear, oh dear!" All three teenagers turned their heads towards where the voice had come from. Emerging out of a door in the wall, (which promptly vanished after it had shut itself), was a white rabbit, wearing a waistcoat and staring worriedly at a pocket watch. "I'm late, I'm late! The Queen will have my head for sure!" He cried, hopping away quickly.

Kira, Diez, and Abigail stared after him.

"Did you just...see that?" Abigail asked. Diez and Kira nodded mouths hanging open.

"Perhaps we should follow him?" Kira asked, rather timidly. She had gathered that she was the least knowledgeable about different worlds, (and just about anything at this stage in time), so she was slightly nervous about voicing her opinions. Abigail, however, thought it a wonderful idea. She raced off, Diez not far after her, and Kira not far behind him.

The trio followed the White Rabbit's cries of 'I'm late' and 'Oh dear, the Queen!' down the winding hallway, until they reached a medium-sized door. All three had to crouch at this point, and were forced to crawl on their hands and knees through the door. The room they emerged in was almost to....small. Like it was made for children. As they entered, the Rabbit, (now about ten times as smaller), disapeared through a small, square opening in the wall.

"How'd he get so small?" Abigail asked, kneeling down in front of the opening. She tried to peer in through the darkness, but couldn't see anything. Kira walked up behind her, as Diez looked around the room.

"Better question: How do we get that small?" Diez asked, looking around the room for a clue. Abigail stood and shrugged in Diez's direction not sure either. She turned to Kira, who shrugged as well.

"You need to drink your medicine." All three jumped, and looked towards the middle. Diez, on instinct, summoned his Keyblade. A glass table had appeared in the center, with a purple striped cat lounging on it. It swung its tail lazily back and forth, over the edge, and grinned. Kira had goose bumps.

"Ex-Excuse Me? " Abigail asked, stunned. The Cat merely grinned, yellow eyes flicking back and forth between the three. Slowly, he began to disapear, the darker stripes unraveling.

"The medicine. You'll need it, should you want to get where you're going." All that was left were his grin and eyes by the time he was finished. He stared at Kira, winked at her, and vanished completely. Kira shuddered, thoroughly disturbed.

Diez walked to the table, releasing HighNoon. The Cat had left behind two bottles, each with a diagram on it. The orange one had the picture of an acorn growing into a tree, and the blue bottle had a picture of a tree shrinking into an acorn. The girls joined him as he picked the blue bottle up.

"Looks like this is the 'medicine' he was talking about." Abigail said, seeing the diagrams. She took it from Diez. "Well, bottoms up!"

"Wait!" Diez said, snatching it back. Abigail pouted, rather disapointed. "You shouldn't trust people so easily. This bottle may be filled with poison." Kira nodded, finding herself agreeing to some degree with him.

"He did have yellow eyes." She said, remembering the Heartless Yen Sid had shown them. "Maybe he was just an unnaturally smart Heartless?" Diez shook his head.

"If it was a Heartless, he would have attacked us. It's their nature." He said, matter of factly. Kira blushed, feeling foolish. Abigail smiled, and patted her shoulder.

"He was pretty creepy, though." She said, trying to comfort Kira. Kira smiled, but was mentally kicking herself. Abigail sighed, and turned a glare towards Diez. "Well, since Mr. Bossy won't let me drink the 'poison'," She mocked him. Diez glared. Abigail merely smiled, and summoned her staff. "I'll just have to use my magic." His stare turned incredulous.

"...Why didn't you do that before?" Abigail shrugged.

"It never occurred to me." Diez and Kira exchanged a look, and Kira shrugged, smiling slightly. Diez, however, rolled his eyes. Abigail raised her staff, and in a flash of pink smoke and sparkles, (her motif, it seemed), the three stood under the glass table, about three inches tall.

It was a little disorientating at first, but Kira quickly recovered, just in time to be dragged off through the square opening, (which seemed much more ominous now), by Abigail. Diez ran after them, shouting for them to not be so reckless. Abigail merely laughed, and together, the three stumbled into the darkness.

/-/-/-/

In another world, far away from any source of light, a man stood on a high cliff. He wore armor, and a red, tattered cape. The man stared out over his darkened land, without really seeing it. He turned as a second person walked up behind him. They wore a hood, and were considerably smaller. A blonde tendril of hair was coaxed out from under the hood by the wind.

"Why isn't he awake yet?" She asked, referring to the boy that lay on the ground between them. He had short black hair, and his eyes were closed peacefully, completely unaware of where he was. The man chuckled.

"I know you are anxious to leave here, but it is essential to my plan to wait until he has recovered." The girl scoffed, and turned to walk away.

"Whatever." The man watched her go, and then looked down at the boy.

His eyes opened.

/-/-/-/

"Ugh!" Abigail grunted, falling down on her back. Kira sat down crosslegged, leaning against the hedge, while Diez stood, arms folded. "If I walk one more step, my feet'll fall off." Diez rolled his eyes.

"Stop complaining. We've only been walking for an hour." Abigail sat up, and glared at him.

"Only an hour? It feels like an eternity!" The blonde cried. "I'm not used to this kind of exertion!" Kira giggled, while Diez raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you train in magic for the past seven years?" Abigail's glare increased. _If looks could kill. _Kira thought.

"Yeah, but Merlin never asked me to walk for an hour!" Abigail whined. "Do we even know where we're going?" Kira sighed, and closed her eyes. The trio had emerged from the darkness into a maze of sorts, composed of high grown, squarely trimmed hedges. Every so often, the group had come across a red rose bush, but encountered no one.

For most of the walk, Diez had led the way, while Abigail told Kira all about her training. She had grown up in a place called Radiant Garden, and ever since she was ten years old was trained by the Wizard Merlin in the magical arts. She had started off easy- lighting candles, blowing them out, summoning small items to her.

_"But I wouldn't be able to do anything without my trusty staff!" Abigail said, twirling it in front of her. "It allows me to channel my magic properly. I'm not sure what I would do without it!"_

Kira had also learned that Abigail had been requested by someone named King Mickey, (who appeared to be the 'leader', of sorts, against the darkness). It was just before she'd left Radiant Garden for Yen Sid's tower that Merlin had declared her apprenticeship over.

_"It was so exciting! Yuffie, she's a friend of mine, gave me this outfit as a graduation present." Abigail twirled, her skirt swishing around her. Kira laughed._

_"Radiant Garden sounds like a really nice place." Abigail nodded._

_"It is!" She smiled. "We should go there one day. I can introduce you to Leon, and Yuffie, and Cloud, and Aerith...and then there's Yuna and Rikku and Paine, and Cid and..." _

As Abigail had continued to list names, Kira felt a twinge of sadness. Abigail seemed to have a lot of friends, whom she spoke highly of. Kira wondered if she'd once had that many friends, or just one close one. This thought led Kira to think about her memories. Were they happy? Sad? What had been her best memory? Who had she shared them with?

"Come on." Diez said, snapping Kira back to the present. She looked up at him. "We need to keep going. Someone's--"

"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!" The silence of the maze that the three had grown used to was broken by an earsplitting sound of people marching and fighting came from somewhere around the corner. "I SAID, OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!"

Quickly, Diez summoned his Keyblade, and ran off around the corner. Kira followed suit, as did Abigail, who summoned her staff. Rounding the corner, they emerged in a courtyard, where mass chaos had erupted. Full sized cards, carrying spears, were fighting off Heartless. Kira caught sight of the White Rabbit standing next to a screaming lady with a crown on her head. She was waving a flamingo in the air, the poor creature merely flopping like a limp noodle.

"Let's take care of these guys." Diez said, and the jumped into the fray. Kira and Abigail followed him.

Abigail cast spells left and right, setting Heartless on fire or freezing them, whatever seemed to strike her fancy. Diez was an expert fighter, dispatching most Heartless with one or two swings, while Kira, still knew to handling her Keyblade, had a little more difficulty. She would miss, and end up having to drop to the ground or jump to the side to avoid the Heartless' counter attack. After she had destroyed a few, however, Kira began to see patterns in their fighting style, and discern how to respond to their movements. Soon enough, the Heartless were defeated.

"Phew!" Abigail said, walking over to Kira, who was trying to catch her breath. Abigail smiled. "First fight, huh?" Kira glanced and Diez, who had now joined them, and nodded.

"Against Heartless, yeah." Abigail opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by an angry cry.

"You three!" The trio turned, and saw the conscious Card Soldiers lining up. Down the aisle they had created, the woman with the flamingo was marching down the aisle, the White Rabbit scurrying to get to the end first. He stood, chest out, and announced her.

"Presenting her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts!" As she reached the end, the Card Soldiers turned in unison to face forward. The Queen stared at the three teenagers, her flamingo held in front of her like a cane.

"You," she pointed the flamingo at Diez, "you," it moved to Abigail, "and you!" And finally rested on Kira. "You three have interrupted my croquet game!" Diez, Abigail, and Kira stared at her. Kira leaned towards Abigail.

"What's croquet?" She whispered. Abigail shrugged.

"Must be some kind of game." Suddenly, Abigail was smacked on the back of the head. "Ow!" All three turned in shock, towards the Queen of Hearts, who had whacked Abigail with the flamingo.

"For interrupting my croquet game, I sentence all three of you, to execution. Now, OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!" She screamed, pointing the flamingo once more at them. The Card Soldiers huffed, and descended upon them.

"Run!" Diez yelled, and immediatley headed back towards the way they'd come. Abigail ran to her right, while Kira ran to the left. Everyone thought they were being followed by the other two.

/-/-/-/-/

Abigail ran, trying to avoid the waves of water that splashed over her. She'd ended up on a beach, of sorts, with a dodo bird conducting a race in which its participants, (consisting of a lobster, an owl, and an ostrich to name a few), attempted to get dry.

"This is so dumb!" Abigail sputtered, spitting saltwater out of her mouth. Dodo turned to look at her from the high, (and dry, Abigail noted with distaste), rock he stood upon.

"No no no, my dear. This is a Caucus Race!" Abigail rolled her eyes, and decided she'd rather take her chances in the forest than be splashed one more time. As another wave splashed over them, she made a break for the treeline.

/-/-/-/

Kira sipped an overly large cup of tea, trying not to spill any. She had stumbled across a tea party, set up in the middle of the woods. It was hosted by a man in a top hat, (The Mad Hatter, he had called himself), and a March Hare. There was also a doormouse, but he was asleep for most of it.

"Is he, uhm, okay?" Kira said, setting her cup down. The Hatter chuckled.

"I have a better question, for you." He leaned forward, very serious suddenly. "Why is a raven, like a writing desk?"

Kira stared at him.

"...Huh?" The March Hare rolled his eyes.

"He said, why is a raven like a writing desk? It's an easy riddle, you should be able to find the answer." The Hatter chortled, sipping from his tea.

"Don't be silly, Marchy! Answer is very hard to find, I hear." Kira sighed, and had to inwardly agree with the Hatter, no matter how absurd he was. Deciding it was time to find her friends, Kira stood.

"Well, it's been, er, wonderful meeting you, but I really must be going. Thank you." She said, and turned to walk away into the forest. Behind her, she could still hear snippets of their conversation.

"That girl, she reminds me of someone."

"No, not Someone. There was another girl. A blonde." Kira stopped. _Abigail? _She turned and walked back towards them.

"Excuse me, but did you say you'd seen a blonde girl? She's a friend of mine. Her name is Abigail?" Hatter looked up at her from under his top hat.

"No, not Abigail." He scoffed. "Alice." Kira looked down.

"Oh..." As Hatter and the Hare began to talk again, Kira walked towards the woods.

"It has been a while since we've seen Alice, hasn't it, Hatter?"

"Oh yes. But, Time is still angry at me. So I can't tell you how long it's been!"

Their laughter followed Kira into the woods.

/-/-/-/

Diez, thoroughly unhappy, sat on a log as two people, (calling themselves Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee), bounced around him.

"Ooh, you must hear a story!" Dum cried, seeing Diez begin to stand up.

"Yes, yes! A story!" Dee agreed. They held hands and bounced around him, singing a rhyme. It took all the training Diez had not to summon his Keyblade right then and there, instead of listening to their incessant babbling. He ducked under their arms and dissapeared into the forest.

They were still rhyming as he left.

/-/-/-/

Kira stumbled down the dark path, unsure of where she was heading. The comforting daylight had quickly given away to night, turning the woods into a dark forest filled with strange sounds and several unknown creatures. While she was throughly creeped out, Kira didn't feel like she was in danger. The dark was strangely comforting, though she knew that to see the light again would definetly put her at ease.

Exauhsted, Kira slumped onto a rock. She stretched her legs out, releiving the ache for a few moments. She wondered where Diez and Abigail were, if they were okay. Though she'd only know them for a short time, Kira was stilled worried.

She yawned and stretched, sinking from the rock onto the ground. Leaning back against it, Kira closed her eyes and tucked her legs up close to her.

_Just a few moments...I have to find Diez...and...Ab...i...gail...._

It was the smell of smoke that awoke her, hours later. Kira sat up suddenly, and immediatly regretted it. Her body was stiff from being in the same curled up position. The forest had lightened with the rays of the rising sun.

The smoke that had awaoken her was blue. It curled in strange shapes around Kira, and she stared at it, transfixed. She looked towards a small path leading away from the main trail she had been following. Curious, Kira stood and, shaking off the stiffness, followed the smoke trail.

Soon, she came upon a small clearing, filled with several mushrooms. The smallest were half her size, and the tallest, in the center, was just below her chin. Sitting atop this mushroom, was the source of the blue smoke.

A blue caterpillar, with six pairs of arms, one of which held a hookah. Kira could merely stare, transifxed, as the Caterpillar smoked his hookah, completely unaware of her presence.

"Come closer, child." Kira jumped, startled by the Caterpillar. His eyes opened, and he stared straight at her. Slowly, Kira moved forward, until she was standing just before the mushroom. "Who are you?" He asked.

"I'm Kira." The Caterpillar coughed, and shook his head, before sucking in another lungful of smoke. As he spoke, her blew smoke rings at her.

"No, I asked: Who are you?" Kira coughed, not appreciating the smoke. She waved her hands in front of her face.

"I'm Kirameki!" She said, fighting the bile that rose in throaght back. The Caterpillar sighed, rolling his eyes.

"No, I did not ask your _name. _I asked who you _are_." Kira blinked. She stared blankly at the Caterpillar, confused.

"I...I'm not sure wh--"

"Of course you're not. You've lost your memories, have you not?" Kira's eyes went wide. "It is easy to tell. After all, you told me your name with no feeling. Only that it was a fact, not something to be proud or ashamed of." He scoffed. "You might as well not be real." Kira narrowed her eyes.

"I _am _real." Kira said, frowning at him. The Caterpillar raised his eyes in amusement.

"Are you now? Then tell me, Kirameki, or is it Kira, what is your best memory? The one that brings you the most happiness? What is the saddest memory?" Kira was taken aback. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish, and she found herself unable to answer. The only memories she had at the moment were of being abruptly sent ona journey with two people she'd just met. The Caterpillar took her silence as an answer, and nodded.

"Names are just names. What makes a person are their memories, created by experiences." A silence fell upon them as Kira contemplated what the Caterpillar had said. A sudden shouting came from somewhere off to their left. The Caterpillar huffed.

"Your friends shall be arriving soon." Kira looked up at him. "The way back to the room with the Doorknob is that way." The five unoccupied arms pointed to the right. Kira nodded, staring off into the woods. She turned back to ask the Caterpillar a question, only to find him vanished. The only sign he had been there was the faint smell of blue smoke.

"Stupid flowers!" Abigail yelled, barging into the mushroom clearing. Diez wasn't far behind her, looking rather embarassed. Abigail turned to face the way she came, waving a fist in the air. "Your singing was off-key! Personally, I'd rather listen to nails on a chalkboard than hear another one of your songs!" She turned, hands on her hips. "'Weed', hmph!"

Kira turned her gaze towards Diez, who shook his head. It was not a good idea to get Abigail worked up anymore than she already was, at least for his sake. Kira nodded.

"Oh, Kira!" Abigail cried, finally realizing that she was there. Abigail ran over to her, and hugged her. "I'm so glad you're alright!" Kira was slightly shocked at first, but patted her on the back.

"I...I'm fine, Abigail. Here," Kira said pulling away, "the room's this way." She turned, and lead them out, back into the woods. She missed, however, Diez's questioning look. Abigail may have not caught the hesitation in her voice, but he most certainly had. Something had happened to Kira while they were seperated.

The sad, lost look in her eyes was more than enough proof.

_"Don't let go, hold on to_

_Every moment_

_Always know, hold on to _

_Every moment_

_That you can..."_


	6. Goodbye Alice in Wonderland

_"There is a difference_

_In dreaming and pretending_

_I did not find paradise..."_

"This must be it." Kira said, as the three approached a square opening in the base of a tree. They hadn't walked very far from where the Caterpillar had spoken with Kira, something Abigail was grateful for. Stepping into the darkness, they emerged moments later back into the room. It seemed as if nothing had changed, though all three could feel something different about it.

"Is it just me, or does it seem...darker, in here?" Abigail said, summoning her staff. Kira and Diez summoned their Keyblades, Diez because he knew the feeling of an oncoming battle well, and Kira more because she was following what the other two did, though she could sense something strange.

Behind them, the door vanished. Neither Kira, Diez, or Abigail noticed, however, because their eyes were glued to the Heartless that had just appeared. It towered over them, twirling an oversized pocket watch in the air. A Hatter's hat was pushed sideways on its head, so that a single white ear was visible. It's yellow eyes bored into Kira.

"Woah!" Abigail exclaimed, backing up slightly. "I've never seen a Heartless this big before." Diez glanced at her briefly, before moving his eyes back to the Heartless. It moved the watche over its head and swung it twice, before hurling it at them. Diez and Abigail moved to either side, while Kira backed up against the wall to avoid it. The clock crashed into the floor, creating a dent and sending tile flying.

"Kira!" Abigail screamed, seeing her friend trapped. She aimed her staff at the Heartless' head. "Fira!" Fire burst out of her staff, hitting the Heartless dead on. It roared, and turned, swinging the pocket watch just over Kira's head. The Heartless swing it above its head again, and brought it down.

But Diez was ready this time. He jumped up, landing on the watch and kicking it to the ground. The Heartless fell with it, and he let loose a fury of attacks. Abigail joined him, casting Fira and Blizzarra spells. As Kira stepped forward to help, she noticed the Heartless' hands twitch, and tighten around the chain.

"Watch out!" She cried, and only seconds later Diez and Abigail jumped away, the pocket watch swinging wildly in a circle. Kira dropped to the ground, and it missed her by inches. The Heartless caught it, and stood still for a moment. Then, suddenly, he swung it own on Abigail.

Caught by surprise, Abigail barely had time to scramble out of the way. It turned towards Diez, and brought it down in the same quick motion. Diez blocked it, though the force knocked him to the floor. The Heartless set it sights on Kira, but--

She wasn't there. As it had been attacking her friends, Kira had moved swiftly to the other side, so she was no longer against the wall. She swung her Keyblade at its legs, an the Heartless stumbled, landing on a knee. The pocket watch fell to the floor, causing a rather large dent to appear. Immediatly, Diez, who had recovered, ran towards the Heartless' hands, and whacked them, causing it to groan and drop the chain.

Kira's Keyblade stabbed into the Heartless' back, and it fell to the floor, barely hanging on. It reached for the watch, but Abigail, now standing, cast a wind spell, Aerora, and it whirled away across the room. As Diez dealt the final blow, the pocket watch and Heartless vanished together.

For a moment, they stood in silence, merely staring at the spot where the Heartless once was, until a voice interrupted them.

"Well done!" They turned towards the table, startled. But it was the strange, purple cat, smiling at them. "That nasty ticking was driving me insane....even though I'm already mad..." He laughed. "As a reward, I can tell you where the next corridor is." Diez stepped forward, as the girl's gasped.

"How do you know about the corridors?" The Cat's smile widened.

"Why, I know quite a lot about you, Diez, Abigail, Kira." All three of them were taken aback. "The mad often do have a bit more insight than the sane." He laughed again. "Now, the corridor is right through there." He pointed a paw towards a fireplace, with a small opening at the bottom. Kira nodded.

"Thank you, but uhm...I don't think we can leave yet." The Cat didn't falter, however.

"Oh, I know. You must seal the Heart. But first, Kira, what have you learned?" Kira stared at him, confused.

"What have I....learned?" The Cat nodded, still grinning.

"You had a talk with the Blue Caterpillar, did you not?" Kira hesitated, and then nodded. Diez's eyes snapped to her. He was about to find out what was bothering her. Abigail merely watched. "He told you that people are made up of experiences and memories, correct?" Kira nodded, looking very sad.

"And, because I have none, I am not a real person." Abigail stepped forward to comfort her friend, but Diez held his hand out.

"But you are a real person." Kira looked up, meeting the Cat's yellow gaze. "True, memories and experiences are important, but it is a person's heart that truly decides who they are." Kira stared, the revelation sinking in. She reached up a hand to gently touch where her heart was.

"My heart." She whispered, and smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Cat." The Cat grinned.

"The Heart of the world is over there." He pointed a paw to the door knob, still snoring. He began to dissapear again, his eyes winking out. "Good luck on your journey." And then he was gone.

Kira turned towards the door knob. She was the closest to it, and suddenly felt extremely confident and sure of herself. Riasing StarLight level with the keyhole, a stream of light shot out from the tip, connecting with the keyhole. There was a locking sound, and the light faded. StarLight vanished as Kira dropped her hand.

"Good job, Kira!" Abigail cheered, hopping over to her friend and swinging an arm around her shoulders. "You should have told us about that Caterpillar. I would have knocked him one, had I known." Kira laughed as they walked towards Diez, who was standing in front of the fireplace. Diez and Kira's eyes met, and he nodded in acknowledgement. Kira smiled slightly. _Maybe he's not so bad after all._

_  
_"Mater Yen Sid told me to give this to you." He held up his hand towards Kira. It was empty, and she raised an eyebrow at him. Suddenly, different collored sparks flew from his finger tips, straight at Kira. They surrounded her, causing a small wind to play with her clothes and hair. The glows faded, and Kira felt slightly...different. As she looked at herself to see what had changed, (nothing on the outside), Diez explained. "That's magic. Abigail and I can teach you how to use." He smirked. "From that battle just now, I can tell you're gonna need it." And then he walked away, into the fireplace.

Kira stared after him, flabbergasted.

_Nevermind. He is that bad._

Abigail, however, cheered.

"Yay! Now I get to teach you about magic!" She grabbed Kira's hand and, together, they joined Diez in the fireplace. A flash of light and a few cries of surprise later, and they were off to the next world.

/-/-/-/

On the cliff, the armored man, hooded girl and black haired boy stood, watching the three dissapear into the fireplace, via a swirl of darkness. With a wave of the armored man's hand, the mirror vanished. He turned to the boy and girl.

"Are we following _them_?" The girl asked, arms crossed. She did not like the idea of straying from her path of vengeance. The armored man shook his head.

"No. I have another you must follow." He opened a portal. "Be sure that he does not cross paths with them. I cannot have his interference." As the boy walked towards the portal, the girl followed, stopping to stare into the darkness.

"Is it him?" She asked, voice quiet. The man smiled behind his armor, and inclined his head. The girl grinned, throwing her hood back and unleashing her long, blonde hair. "Good."

The portal closed behind her.

_"It was only a reflection of my_

_Lonely mind wanting_

_What I've been missing in my life..."_


	7. You Don't Know

_"I'm some Christopher Columbus_

_Sailing out into my mind_

_With no map of where I'm going_

_Or of what I've left behind..."_

"Ouch!"

"Who's hand is that?"

"Oh, sorry Abigail."

"Uhm...guys?"

"Damn right you're sorry!"

"Hey, wait...."

"Well, I can't see where I'm going!"

"...hello?"

"Excuses, excuses!"

"Oh, what was that word...."

"Don't patronize me!"

"Uhm...F...Fi..."

"Who's patronizing?"

"Fira!"

A storm of fire raged through the darkness, ingiting the faces of Kira, Diez, and Abigail. Shocked out of their argument by Kira's accidental using of an upper level magic, Abigail and Diez quickly extinguished the fire. Their was darkness for a second, and then Abigail's staff lit the place with and emerald glow.

"Sorry." Kira said. Abigail smiled.

"It's alright, Kira. You can't use upper level magic yet. Stick with the regular fire spell." Kira smiled, and nodded. Diez sighed.

"So, where are we?" He asked. Together, the three looked around. They sat in a small, dark space, that seemed to stretch onwards on either side. Abigail raised her staff, trying to get a better look, but it clanged against something metal. A small amount of light leaked in, and the three could hear the sounds of city life.

As the tallest, Diez stood, and pushed the circular covering away, before peering out. He hoisted himself up through the hole, and dissapeared. Abigail went next, and Kira could hear her excited squeal as she stood, reaching up to join her friends.

Kira climbed out of the manhole, and stared around at the buzzing city, lit with flourescent adds and lights. She was struck by a sudden stirring in the back of her mind.

_This place looks really familiar._

"Hey, watch out!"

Kira felt someone grab her arm, pulling her out of the way as a yellow and black car went screaming past. Shocked, she turned, and found that it was Diez. "You need to be more careful." He said, glaring at her for her stupidity. Kira huffed, pulling her arm away from him.

"Thanks." She said gruffly, just as Abigail skipped over.

"Can you believe this place! Look at all the people, and the shops!" She squealed. Diez rolled his eyes, and began to walk through the crowd of people.

"Come on, let's see what we can find out about this place." Abigail and Kira nodded, and followed him. They stuck close together, less they loose each other in the huge city.

As they walked, they discovered that they had ended up in a place called New York. And, even though it was late at night, all sorts of people crowded the streets. The three passed an angry vendor, with an upturned table and merchendise spilled all over the street.

As they walked, they came across several dark alleyways. Out of one, a scraggly looking man came tearing past them, a shining tiara in his hand.

"You're not a very nice old man!" Turning, the three saw a young woman, wearing a big poofy white dress. Her red hair was pile atop her head in curls. She sighed, huffing, and began to walk away, back down the alley. Kira, Diez and Abigail looked at each other, before shrugging and starting to walk away. The woman's scream had them running back.

"Get off get off!" She shouted, attempting to stomp off a Heartless that had latched on to her dress. Several more were appearing in the shadows. Diez jumped forward, HighNoon in hand, and began to attack the Heartless appearing from the shadows. These, Kira noted were different from the ones in Wonderland. They were slightly bigger, with silver helmets on their heads. Abigail nudged Kira.

"I don't want to burn her dress, so I'll let you take that one." She giggled and bounced off to join Diez. Kira summoned StarLight, and ran forward. She whacked the Heartless away, and stood in front of the woman in case any came from the other side.

"Oh my....thank you!" She said, once all the Heartless were gone. "I'm not sure what I would have done if you hadn't shown up!" She curtsied. "My name is Giselle. And who do I have to thank for my rescue?" Abigail beamed at her.

"I'm Abigail, this is Kira, and, that," she motioned at Diez, who frowned at her, "is Diez." Abigail leaned in closer to Giselle. "He's not very talkative." Giselle nodded, understanding. Kira giggled behind her hand as Diez's frown deepened.

"Hey, are you alright?" Someone called. The group turned and saw a man, slightly older than Giselle, wearing a buisiness suit running towards them. Behind him was a car, similar to that of the one that had nearly flattened Kira. A tiny head poked curiously out the window in the backseat.

"Yes, we're fine." Giselle answered. There was a clap of thunder and lightning. Giselle jumped, frightened. The man looked up.

"Look, is there someone I can call for you? A friend, or family member?" Giselle looked at him, quickly recovering.

"Oh, I don't think they'd hear you from here." He blinked, dumbfounded at her answer. The man turned to look at Diez, Kira, and Abigail.

"What about you three?" Kira wasn't sure what to say, and neither was Abigail, but Diez knew exactly what to do. It was going to rain soon, and they needed some place to stay for the night.

"I'm afraid not, sir. We're traveling, and just arrived here." Not exactly a lie, but vague enough to be the truth. The man raised an eyebrow, and Kira and Abigail looked rather surprised by how easily Diez had said it.

"Look, I don't usually do this, but..." He sighed, "I guess you can stay at my apartment tonight. We have a spare bedroom, and a couch..." He trailed off. Diez smiled, once again catching Kira and Abigail by surprise. Their mouths fell open.

"Thank you very much, sir."

/-/-/-/

On the way to Robert's (the man had introduced himself and his daughter, Morgan, once they were inside the taxi and on the way to the apartment), Giselle had explained her predicament. She was intended to marry Prince Edward, but on her wedding day, was told by an old woman to make a wish in the wishing well.

"I must have looked very far down, though, because I fell in, and ended up here, with you!" She recounted to them, smiling brightly. Entering the apartment with her dress had been tricky. It was so large that Diez and Kira had to push from one side of the door, while Abigail and Robert pulled. It had ended up ripping off the top layer, at which Abigail broke a little and cried at the loss of beauty.

Diez, keeping with his 'I'm a good boy' attitude, had insisted that her sleep on the couch, while Giselle to Morgan's room and Kira and Abigail shared the bed in the guest room. Morgan was sleeping with her Father, which Kira sensed probably would have happened anyway. Robert seemed suspicious of them, Giselle the most, who insisted that Prince Edward was going to come rescue her soon.

Holding a cup of something called hot chocolate, (which Morgan had made for them and Kira found she liked very much), Kira stared out the apartment window. The rain was pouring down, and every so often, lightning would flash. She didn't notice when Abigail walked in, a cup of hot chocolate in hand.

"So," she said, plopping down next to Kira, "what do you think about this world so far?" Kira shrugged, taking a sip of her own cup.

"Well, I guess it's okay." She paused. "I just feel like...like I've been somewhere similar before." They sat in silence for a few moments.

"Do you think your world was similar to this one?" Abigail asked quietly. Kira thought for a moment. Truth be told, she'd had small flashes while walking through the streets of a town. Not as big, but lit with neon signs and street lights. There weren't nearly as many people residing in it, but it was hardly a ghost town.

"Yeah. I think so." She said, uncertain. They sat in silence again. Finally, when both cups were empty, Abigail took Kira's and set it with her's on the small table next to the bed. The two climbed under the comforter.

"You know, Kira." Abigail said, her voice muffled slightly by the pillow. "You aren't the only one missing memories, if that makes you feel better." Kira turned, to find Abigail staring at her. "Three years ago, Diez lost his memory. That's when Yen Sid took him in."

_"And what's left of me remembered_

_Well, it's anybodys' guess_

_'Cause my past is like the weather_

_It will come and it will go..."_

**AN: **I'd just like to thank the person that reviewed. It was really nice and gave me some more confidence because I wasn't really sure how well this story was going. Thanks, Grbs!


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